


Retirement plan

by Signe_chan



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Coming Out, First Time, M/M, Retirement, smoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 13:47:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19296985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Signe_chan/pseuds/Signe_chan
Summary: Nate is a Stanley Cup Champion. Sid has just retired.





	Retirement plan

Nate and Sid. 

 

Nate made himself wait until after breakfast to wander casually down to the end of his driveway and start towards Sid’s house. He needn’t have worried, by the time he climbed the steps to the front deck Sid was already stepping out of the door, tanned and solid and with that touch of grey around his temple that Nate probably shouldn’t love but he kind of really did. 

“Hey,” Sid said, stepping forward for a hug. Nate returned it, trying not to dig his fingers in too much, to be casual. “Welcome home, Stanley Cup champion Nate Mackinnon.” 

“Yeah,” Nate said. He couldn’t help grinning a little, though it still felt surreal. He’d really started to think they’d never do it but, well, the cup had sure as hell felt real enough in his hands and the torn ligament he’d skated through because he couldn’t let the team down, that had felt real too. 

Sid stepping back and Nate made himself drop his arms, even if he wanted to cling a little. He was a grown man, he couldn’t just go around hanging off other grown men. 

Or so people kept telling him, anyway. 

Sid’s house was still, somehow, even after all these years, more familiar than his own. As they made their way through into the kitchen, Sid talked hockey. Nate was kind of used to it by now so he let it all wash over him. Sid’d apparently been paying more attention to the final than Nate had and, obviously, he had a lot of thoughts about it. Nate nodded and hummed along as he helped himself to a glass of water and Sid went around getting his breakfast ready. 

He’d been worried that things’d be different this summer now they had different schedules, different priorities. He should have known that Sid wouldn’t let a little thing like retirement change his routines. Since he’d first hit the NHL Sid had been right there, his constant, his true north. 

He took a gulp of his water and went over to see what Sid was making. 

When he saw the sheer number of eggs getting cooked he laughed. 

“Oh god, do you still eat like that now? I thought retirement meant you got to relax a little.” 

“It’s still important to keep in shape, Nathan,” Sid said, rolling his eyes and grinning. “And it’s not for me, obviously. Go set the table.” 

Well, shit. He thought, for a moment, about telling Sid he’d already eaten. Sid’d be cool about it. He’d put the left overs in the fridge or the bin but Nate could already kind of imagine the way his shoulders would slump just that little bit. He loved looking after people so fucking much. 

And Nate was an NHL player. It wasn’t like he could get too much protein. 

He moved to set the breakfast table in the nook. He grabbed napkins and knives and forks and laid them out, then put out coasters for their plates and drinks. He used to laugh at Sid for this, when he’d been young and actual adult responsibility had felt a million miles away. Now he carefully put his glass on the coaster and went to bring over Sid’s coffee cup, settling it so it wouldn’t leave marks on Sid’s table. 

Like everything in Sid’s house, the table was chosen with care. It was sturdy, made by a local craftsman, the kind of piece you’d keep in the family. He was pretty sure that when Sid bought it, a million years ago, he’d been thinking about sitting a family around it. He’d probably been thinking about a gorgeous wife, a kid he could teach to skate. 

Nate settled himself into his usual chair. Sid was still talking about the game winning goal, which had come off Nate’s stick and made every ache and pain, every shot and workout session and every time he’d pushed himself just that little bit past what he’d thought was possible, worth it. 

Then Sid was there, dumping a plate of eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and thick, rich bread from the good baker in town in front of Nate. 

“Thanks,” Nate said, grabbing his fork. He shovelled some eggs into his mouth, made an appreciative sound, and watched Sid’s satisfied grin out of the corner of his eye. That was worth all the ways his body was going to complain about two breakfasts. 

“No problem,” Sid said, digging into his own breakfast. His plate wasn’t as full, though it was still quite a lot. He was probably going to need to cut that down soon. Nate had seen enough guys who’d finished with hockey and kept eating more or less the same but without the exercise.

“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon,” Sid said. “You done celebrating already.” 

“Celebrating’s a young guy’s game,” Nate said, which made Sid chuckle. A few of his team mates were out in Vegas together now getting drunk enough to kill off the few brain cells they had left. They’d invited Nate to go with them, of course. They’d yelled things about getting him laid and helping him forget Ash, who’d left him just before their cup run started. He didn’t know if his complete acceptance of that was just some kind of emotional delaying thing and he was going to have a breakdown when it really hit him half way through the summer or if it meant he really didn’t care about her like he should, which was what she’d accused him of when she’d packed her bags. 

“The cup though, man.” 

“Yeah,” Nate agreed. “I’m gonna have my cup day up here, I think. Like, I’m gonna do what you used to do. Have a big party, visit places, make the most of every second.” 

“Neat,” Sid said, shovelling in another mouthful of food. 

“Yeah. I mean, it’s a lot. We didn’t think we’d make it this year with all the shit that went on in the regular season. We were happy just to get to the playoffs, you know. Then we just kind of kept winning and it kept coming together and, I don’t know man, it doesn’t feel real.” 

“Don’t worry, it never does. You deserve it, though. You guys all do. You’re a good team.” 

“Yeah,” Nate said, his face heating up a little. He’d tried hard to get over the way compliments from Sid affected him but he never quite managed it. “It’s pretty awesome. Gabe cried. I don’t think Tyson’s been sober since we lifted the cup. He texted me this morning and he was drinking champagne.” 

Sid snorted. “Yeah, I remember those days. Or don’t, you know. It’s all kind of a blur when you’ve drunk that much.” 

“Yeah,” Nate agreed. He waited for another question he’d have to deflect about why, exactly, he was in Sid’s kitchen in Nova Scotia eating eggs he didn’t need when he could be half way across the country celebrating. Sid didn’t ask, he just went back to his meal and Nate let it drop. 

It wasn’t even like he’d had a good answer. He’d loved winning the cup, he’d enjoyed the celebrations, but it had just felt like time to come home, to touch base with his family, to see Sid. 

“So,” he said, glancing across the table. “You’ve actually done it. You’ve retired.” 

“Yeah,” Sid agreed. Nate had kind of expected to see some regret there, but Sid didn’t particularly seem to mind. “It seemed like the time to go. I know there are guys who say I’ve lost my edge every season but I really felt it these last few years, you know.” 

“I know.” Nate was pretty sure he’d been one of Sid’s first calls when he’d made the decision and they’d talked about it for what felt like forever now. Nate had tried to talk him out of it at first, it had felt weird even to talk about the ways Sid was slowing down and his game wasn’t quite what it used to be. But, well, in the end he was getting older. 

“Better to go now than push for another contract. And I wouldn’t have wanted to play for anyone other than the Pens.” 

“No, of course not.” He shoved another fork full of eggs into his mouth and chewed. He knew he should just let the conversation drop, Sid had been good enough not to push him about why he wasn’t passed out in a hotel room somewhere in Vegas. He’d never been good at boundaries though. “I just… have you thought about what you’re gonna do now?” 

Sid stopped eating. He sat very still for a second, then finished the food in his mouth and put his fork down. Nate sat up a little straight. He recognised serious business when he saw it. 

“Yeah, about that. I’ve been thinking a lot, you know. I mean, I’ve been getting a lot of job offers and things and, well, it kind of made me focus. Like, I’m definitely not interested in doing anything involving the press. I was thinking maybe charity work but then, you know, I mean, we give up a lot to be in the NHL, right?” 

“Right,” Nate agreed. “I mean, you get a lot back but-” 

“No, like, I’m not criticising. Just, like, there are things I want to do so, maybe, I’m gonna do them now.” 

“Okay,” Nate said, nodding slowly. “That makes sense, definitely. But, like, what? What are you going to do?” 

Sid shook his head, then slowly stood up. He moved around the table and dropped in the chair next to Nate. Nate’s heart was racing. This felt, like, really fucking serious. He put down his own knife and fork and swivelled around so he could look Sid in the eye. 

“So,” Sid said. He was sat there, back straight, hands on his thighs, like Nate had seen him a million times before for ‘serious talks’. “I was gonna talk about this later. I had, like, an entire speech.” 

“Are you okay? You’ve not got cancer or something?” 

“What? No. I’m fine.” 

“You’ve just gone all serious.” 

“Yeah. I just… I’m bi. I mean, that’s what I wanted to tell you. I’m bi and I’ve never really done anything about it, you know, because I’ve never really not been in the spotlight and it wasn’t worth the risk but now there’s no more spotlight, or there doesn’t have to be, so I figured I can just, like, work out what it means that I’m kind of into guys.” 

“Oh,” Nate says. He feels like his head’s just spinning around and around but no coherent thoughts are coming out. “Me too.” 

Sid’s entire face brightens. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, man. I like guys. I just kind of figured, you know, I like girls too and they’re so much less complicated.” 

“I know,” Sid agreed, his hand reaching out to grab Nate’s arm like he sometimes did when he was excited and Nate really shouldn’t read anything more into it than that. “But, like, it’s still a part of me, right?” 

“Yeah, exactly,” Nate agreed. 

It was a part of both of them, and now Sid was going to explore it. 

Images jumped right up into his head of Sid with some guy. Any guy, really. Sid touching some guy, laughing at his jokes, leading him away to bed while Nate, Nate went and he played hockey and he tried not to think about what Sid might be doing out there with guys. 

Guys who weren’t him. 

Which was fine. He was going to be fine with it. Just because he had a crush on Sid that was approximately the size of Canada didn’t mean Sid had to like him back. And it wasn’t like he was retired and ready to go out and explore, though he was a Stanley Cup champion now with years left on his contract and he wouldn’t be the first out queer guy in the NHL so it wasn’t like it’s be taking that much of a risk if the right guy came along. 

If Sid wanted to.

Sid’s hand tightened in his arm, then Sid shifted a little closer. He glanced up. Sid was watching him. Looking at him. Looking at his lips. Sid’s tongue darted out just a little and ran over his lip, then he bit it so gently. 

Fuck, maybe he wasn’t misreading this. Maybe Sid actually did want him. 

He swayed forward, just a little. He couldn’t help himself. And Sid shifted forward too. He was right there. 

Fuck it. 

Nate kissed him. 

It was kind of weird for a second. He’d daydreamed about this so many times. He’d dedicated serious alone time to thinking about what it’d be like to be with Sid. He’d thought a lot about these lips. Sid’s lips. He’d had years to get to know them, the way they curled when Sid smiled, how he bit them when he concentrated, the way then thinned when he got really annoyed or unhappy with something. And now he knew how they felt too. 

Sid’s hand came up and touched the side of his head and Nate took it as encouragement, leaning over to put his hands on Sid’s waist. Sid was solid under his hands, and big. He’d given a lot of thought to how big Sid was. He’d always kind of fantasised about someone who could manhandle him. 

And now he was kissing Sid. 

Some distant voice in the back of his head that sounded a lot like his agent was screaming that this wasn’t a great idea but Sid’s hand had moved down to cup his jaw and Sid’s thumb was rubbing gentle circles into his skin and he’d never been very good at thinking things through anyway. 

Sid pulled back a little and Nate let his eyes drift open. Sid was smiling, looking bashful. It was a really good look on him. 

“Hey,” Sid said. 

“Yeah,” Nate agreed, then leant in to kiss him again. 

Kissing at the kitchen table was kind of awkward so Nate stood up, pulling Sid with him, and that was better. Now he could press himself all up against Sid’s body. He could get his arms around Sid and feel the strength of him. He got to have Sid’s arms winding around him, which was fucking awesome. 

And then Sid was pulling back. Nate followed him, trying to pull him into another kiss, but Sid’s hands on his hips were firm and he was forced to put some space between them. 

“Okay,” Sid said. He sounded overwhelmed. His lips were redder than usual. Nate was really into it. 

“Okay,” Nate agreed, reaching for Sid again. Sid stepped back, all the way back like they weren’t touching at all and that wasn’t good. “Sid?” 

“I just, just let me think for a second, okay?” 

“I guess,” Nate said, letting his arms drop to his sides. “What do you need to think about?” 

“I wasn’t expecting… It’s not that this isn’t awesome because it definitely is, it’s just that, well, I wasn’t expecting you to kiss me, you know? And I know I said I wanted to experiment but not with you.” 

“You don’t-” Nate started, his heart dropping down to the ground. 

“No, shit, that came out wrong. I really, really fucking like you, Nate. I have for a long time. You’re like, so fucking important, okay. So I don’t want to experiment with you, because experiments end, you know, and I don’t want to just mess around with you and then try to go back to how things were. I want, like, if we’re going to do something together, I want to do it right, I guess. Am I even making sense here?” 

“I think so,” Nate said, slowly, trying to work it through. “I think you’re saying you want to date?” 

Sid didn’t say anything and Nate felt the small tendrils of hope that had started to spread out in him turn away, then Sid nodded sharply. “I, yeah. That’s what I want.” 

“Are you sure? I mean, you said you wanted to experiment.” 

“I did,” Sid agreed, teeth worrying at his lip again. “But, then, I didn’t think you’d be interested. I’ve been interested for a while now but I thought you were straight.” 

“Oh,” Nate said. The hope back, winding its way around his heart. “Yeah. Me too.”

“You mean…” 

“I’ve liked you a while.” He wouldn’t admit how long, not yet. That kind of felt too big just now. Maybe some day. “I just thought, you know, you wouldn’t be interested.” 

“But I am.” 

“You are,” Nate agreed. “And I am too.” 

And now Sid was smiling, that honest, kind of crooked smiled he got when he was really, genuinely happy. Which made sense, because apparently they were dating now. Hell, Nate was probably grinning like an idiot too. He reached out and Sid didn’t move away this time but, instead, stepped forward and grabbed a handful of Nate’s shirt, pulling him in to another kiss. 

It was pretty fucking awesome. 

When Sid pulled back the next time, he looked pretty pleased with himself. Nate was sure he looked the same. 

“So,” Sid said, hands still on Nate. “Do you want to finish your breakfast or…” 

“Or,” Nate agreed, tugging at Sid’s shirt. “I think I was promised some experimentation.” 

“Yeah. We can definitely experiment.” Sid reached down and grabbed his own shirt, yanking it over his head, and Nate followed, dropping his shirt on the floor and pulling Sid in again to press himself up against Sid’s chest. Holy shit but he was a lot. Nate was taller but Sid was just built like a fucking tank. He was pretty sure that, if they had a genuine fight, Sid’d win. 

He really, really liked that. 

He knew the way to Sid’s bedroom so it was easy to stumble up there while still keeping his hands on Sid. It took them a while, they had to keep stopping to push each other up against walls and kiss, which Nate was not objecting to at all. 

In the bedroom, he let Sid push him down onto the bed then climb up over him, pressing him back into the mattress. He kissed Sid again, running his hands over Sid’s body, and finally managed to get his hands on Sid’s ass, even though it was through his pants. Fuck, he might get to fuck Sid’s ass. Or maybe Sid’d fuck him. It wouldn’t be his first time, either way, but it’d always been with a woman before. He’d had some very indulgent girlfriends and some very good sex toys over the years. 

He got the feeling it’d be totally different with Sid, though. 

The thing was, he didn’t think he was going to be able to last long enough for that. He was already hard, his cock pushing against the zip of the jeans he’d put on and why was he even wearing jeans? He was at Sid’s, why hadn’t he thrown on some shorts so he’d have more room to move. 

Not that Sid was doing much better. Sure, he wasn’t trapped in jeans but his cock was still pressing into Nate’s hip, hard and big and Nate really fucking wanted to touch it. 

And why shouldn’t he? 

Sid moved to help when Nate went for his jeans so getting Sid’s cock into his hands was pretty easy. He’d seen it before, in changing rooms, but never hard like this. Definitely never hard for him, which made a lot of difference. He ran his fingers over it, watching as Sid’s eyes darkened, and he might have never touched a guy other than himself before but he knew how to do this. 

“Hey, have you got lube?” 

“Yeah,” Sid said, voice heavy and deep. He shimmied up Nate to get to the bedside cabinet then came back, dropping a bottle into Nate’s hand. Nate slicked up his palm and set to work. 

Sid’s orgasm face was intense, which maybe Nate should have expected. He moaned and shook above Nate, thrusting into Nate’s hand as Nate ran it up and down his cock, varying the speed and the tightness like he liked it. Sid’s eyes dropped closed, his breath started coming in short gasps, and Nate took in every second of it. Some part of him still couldn’t believe that he got this, that he was allowed to watch as Sid slowly fell apart in front of him. 

Then Sid was moaning Nate’s name and come was falling across Nate’s stomach. Nate held him through it, watched the intensity of it play out on Sid’s features. He was so fucking beautiful. Nate couldn’t believe he actually got to do this. 

And then Sid was panting, looking up at him through long eyelashes. Nate swallowed. 

“Was that-?” 

“Get your pants off,” Sid interrupted. “I want.” 

He didn’t finish but he didn’t have to. Nate reached down to carefully unfasten his jeans then they had to move for him to stand and get them off. He kicked them away then crawled back up the bed, dropping down next to Sid who’d rolled onto his side and was watching Nate intently. 

As soon as Nate was settled, Sid was gripping his cock. He’d apparently got some lube while Nate was distracted and his firm grip was wet and perfect. He went right for it, not teasing even a little but working Nate quick and hard, bringing him right to the brink then pushing, pushing, until Nate’s limbs were quivering and he was spilling out over the bed, eyes closed and Sid’s name on his lips. 

And then it was over. 

Sid let him lie there for a minute, happy in the afterglow, then poked him until he settled away from the wet patch he’d just made. Then Sid disappeared off and came back with a wet cloth to wipe them down, then he started making noises about washing the sheets. 

Nate reached out and grabbed his arm, tugging at it. “Come on, Sid. Lie down.” 

“I don’t-” 

“Sid.” Sid sighed and gave in, crawling into the bed and wrapping his arms around Nate. Nate grinned. Perfect. He reached out to find Sid’s hand and laced their fingers together then felt as, slowly, Sid relaxed against him until they were properly curled up together, pressed along each other on top of the covers. 

“Hey,” Nate said eventually. 

“Hey,” Sid replied, voice slow and rumbly. 

“So, that was awesome.” 

“Yeah,” Sid agreed. “You really liked it. I mean, it wasn’t…” 

“Yes, Sid. I really liked it.” 

“I just thought, I mean, you can get a handjob from a girl.” 

“But I like getting them from you. I like giving them to you. This was fucking awesome. And, like, this isn’t the only time we’re going to have sex, right? Next time we can do something else.” 

“Yeah, of course,” Sid said. Nate grinned. He should have just gone right in with the praise. Sid loved positive feedback. “Are you hanging around today?” 

“I mean, I was going to?” 

“Sweet.” Sid tightened his arms and kissed the back of Nate’s neck. Nate could definitely get used to this. “I need to go and buy food and maybe we can work out some then…” 

“Then we can experiment more.” Nate grinned. He rolled over so he could see Sid’s face then leant in to kiss him. “No rush, though. We’ve got the entire summer.” 

“Just the summer?” Sid asked, something a little guarded in his voice. 

“I mean, I’m going to have to go back to Colorado…” 

“But I’m retired now. There’s no reason I can’t follow you. I mean, if you don’t want me to then I won’t and we can, like, meet up sometimes or whatever but-” 

Nate cut him off with a kiss. He was an idiot. Of course Sid’d be able to follow him. Of course Sid would want to. They were going to be together, actually together. It was going to be awesome. 

“You know,” he said, pulling back, “Tyson’s going to be really upset when you come back to Colorado and take away his best friend job.” 

“He can still be your best friend, I’m your boyfriend. That’s different.” 

“I guess. I mean, you’re not going to take me for Dairy Queen at three in the afternoon just because.” 

“No,” Sid said. “I’m definitely not doing that. I’m sure we can find something else to do at three in the afternoon just because, though.” 

“Awesome,” Nate said, leaning in for another kiss. “Won’t it look weird, though? You following me to Denver?” 

“I guess. People only see what they want to see, though. I mean, I guess we should just live our lives and if people guess…” 

“Nice. But I can tell my team?” 

“Oh, for sure.” 

“Nice,” Nate said, then he leant in for another kiss. Then, just in case he hadn’t said it enough, he said, “I really like you.” 

“I really like you too. Like, I really, really like you.” 

“Awesome. Sid?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Can we call for takeout today and just stay in bed?” 

Nate thought Sid was going to say no for a second, he really did, but then Sid’s face softened and he smiled, leaning in to press himself as close to Nate as he could. 

“Yeah, Nate. Whatever you want.”


End file.
